FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I get the best out of the translator?

Try to providereference material, which can consist of previously translated documents (we need the source and the target) or any documentation with specificterminology.Try to avoid sending PDF documents as they are diffiicult to convert and usually there is an extra charge.Allow enough time as rushed translations, even if they are proofread, might not be perfect, although we always do our best. Bear in mind that a translator usually translates between 2000 and 2500 words per day. Provide feedback, as we might not be familiar with your in-house terminology, plus we always want to improve the quality of our service. With your help we can produce translations which are even better.

What do I need for an interpreting service?

Firstly tell us exactly the type of event and audience you need the interpreters for, so that we can advise which is the best type of of intepreting and provide the most suitable interpreters.Bear in mind that interpreters work 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off, so you always need 2 interpreters, unless it is an informal situation or a brief meeting. Interpreting, expecially simultaneous interpreting is very demanding and requires a lot of skill and most of all concentration.

Do you use Google Translate?

No, we don’t. We only suggest it to clients who simply want to translate the content of an email or understand roughly the content of a document and have a very low budget. Although Google Translate is becoming more and more accurate, no serious translator or translator agency uses it for their work.

What are CAT tools?

CAT tools are tools designed for assisting translators in their daily tasks. They make it possible for the translator to have in a single environment a glossary, source and the target side by side as well as, suggestions from previous translations whenever they start translating a new segment of a sentence, quality control tools for spell-check, terminology coherence, proper formatting, etc. They are used primarily for translating technical documentation and legal documents as they increase the speed of translation by automising some tasks, such as translating 100% repetitions automatically and by reusing previously translated segments of a sentence. They can guarantee coherence.

What is Translation Memory?

Translation Memory is a collection of perfectly aligned source and target segments of sentences from previously translated documents, which help the translator maintain coherence and speed up the translation process. CAT tools use Translation Memories to assist translators during the translation process. They can either help pretranslate automatically segments of sentences of the new documents to be translated if such segments are 100% similar to the previously translated source segments or they can provide useful suggestions to the translator if the correspondence is usually between 70/75% and 99% (these are called fuzzy matches).

How many words can a translator translate in a day?

A good translator can translate on average between 2000 and 2500words depending on the type of document and topic. It is possible to do more, but quality could be compromised. In some cases, large urgent translations can be divided between several translators and then be given to a proofreader whose task is not only to proofread, but also to make the terminology homogeneous.

How do you make a quotation?

We usually count the words in the source document and multiply by a rate per word. For PDF files there is usually a 20%surcharge unless we successfully manage to convert them into Word. In the quotation, we also provide an estimated timescale.

What is the difference between a translator and an interpreter?

Translators have to translate text in a way that conveys accurately the message and the content of the original document. The target text must be written in the same style, be grammatically correct and readable. Translators always translate only into their native language. Interpreters provide spoken versions that convey, in another language the message and the intention of the original speaker with the same intensity and shades of meaning. Intepreters can interpret into their own native language and vice-versa.

What is a document notarization?

A notarized document is a document carrying the authenticated signature of the translator who carried out the translation and the signature of the notary publicwitnessing the signature. This is also accompanied by an impression of the notary’s official seal. A notarized document is not a certified document.

What is a sworn translation?

A sworn translation is a translation certified by a translator who is sworn before a court in a non-UK jurisdiction, or by a member of the ITI, AITI or ATA. Alternatively, the translator has to declare in front of a solicitor or a notary public to have carried out the translation to the best of their knowledge. The notary or the solicitor will then sign and affix a seal on the statement.

What is the Apostille?

An Apostille is a seal that is applied by an authority to certify that a document is a true copy of an original. Apostilles are available in those countries, which signed theHague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization of Foreign Public Documents.

What is SEO?

SEO is the acronym for Search Engine Optimisation and it consists of a series of techniques for optimising your website visibility on the web. Google and other search engines use two main criteria to decide how high appears on page results: (a) content relevance to the search terms and (b) link popularity, that is how many relevant sites link to your site.

What is a voice-over?

Voice-over is a technique that allows the recording of off-camera voice. Voice-over is generally used as an alternative to dubbing in radio, television productions, commercials, corporate presentations, and e-learning courses. Voice-over artists are generally professionally trained in diction, pronunciation and elocution.

What is Machine Translation?

Machine Translation or MT (not to be confused with Computer Assisted Translation, which is performed by humans) is a subfield of computer linguistics and it generally refers to a simple automated translation of words or groups of words from one language into another. This does not usually produce a good translation result, however increasingly more sophisticated statistical techniques allow for increasingly better output. It is particularly effective in technical fields, where formal or repetitive language is used, such as technical documentation or legal documentation. MT is considered as a useful tool for “gisting“, that is getting the general meaning of a sentence or for getting the feel of the term before proceeding to further term research. A popular free Machine Translation tool is Google Translate.

What is localisation?

Localisation, which is also know by its numeronym L10N (the first letter ‘L’ of the word ‘LocalisatioN‘ followed by 10 letters and the final letter ‘N’), is part of a cycle that comprises two phases: internationalisation and localisation. Internationalisation is the first phase when a product is designed and prepared to support the global markets. Localisation is the second phase when the product is actually adapted for a specific market. In addition to translation, the localisation process also includes the adaptation of graphics, proper forms for dates and times, local currencies, choice of colours, phone numbers, and any other culture-specific elements.